The Mw 7.9, 12 May 2008 Sichuan earthquake rupture measured by sub-pixel correlation of ALOS PALSAR amplitude images

International audiencePALSAR L-band spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) amplitude images are used to map the Sichuan earthquake rupture (China, Mw 7.9, 12 May 2008) and to identify the faults activated by the earthquake. A sub-pixel correlation method is used to retrieve the coseismic displacement field projected into the line of sight of the satellite and the horizontal along-track direction, and to map the surface rupture. The earthquake broke ∼270 km of the Beichuan fault and ∼70 km of the Guanxian fault, with a complex thrust-dextral slip mechanism. Along the southwestern part of the rupture, slip seems to be partitioned into a dextral-dominant component on the Beichuan fault and a thrust-dominant component on the Guanxian fault. Dextral slip may also be dominant at the northeastern tip of the Beichuan ruptured fault. Coseismic surface displacements reach on average 3 to 4 m in both measured directions. The SAR rupture mapping has proven complementary to field studies extending the zone of co-seismic displacements and identifying other possible co-seismic rupture strand